Author: Garth Holden

The Razer CarriageCarnageCarnifex Carcharias is a shark you put on your head for an edge over your enemies. No wait, it is a headset named after the genus for sharks, but good sound does give you an advantage! Razer continues its line of products named after animals, both mythical and mundane, with this rather comfy headset.

Playing Lego City Undercover on the WiiU has left me spoilt: a massive city with so much to see and do, humour and charm pooling at every intersection. Chase Begins is a diluted version of this game, missing all the finer details that made the WiiU version an enjoyable, memorable and immersive experience.

Meet Chase McCain. This small, yellow cop lives to fight crime. Sadly he has more charm than brains, which forced him to leave Lego City after his last big case. Now he is back, looking for forgiveness and to work out how the villainous Rex Fury got out of prison. Now, with Lego City suffering its worst crime wave ever, it is up to Chase to get to the bottom of the case, with the help of his one-liners and his useless sidekick, Honey.

What comes to mind when I say hearthstone? Do you picture a fireplace, or are you teleported (see what I did there) to the lands of Azeroth? I got the chance to talk (yes, actual phonecalls talking!) to some of the guys at Blizzard about a new digital card game called Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. Now before you run for the hills to avoid me discussing complex card interactions or tricks, hear me out.

Are you an MMORPG junkie? Do you spend as much time in Azeroth as you do at your day job? Maybe you know Tyria better than your own neighbourhood? If you spend a lot of time performing the same string of button presses, or know how horrible a missing an ability or miss-pressing your keys can be, this keyboard could be your saving grace.

Much has happened since the end of Wings of Liberty. With old friends buried and Kerrigan missing a great deal of her memories, things aren’t really looking up for Raynor’s Raiders and his allies. Mengsk is out for blood, determined to wipe Kerrigan out in her weakened state.

Sorin isn't your typical horrible bloodthirsty vampire. In fact, despite being a prolific traveller, has always looked after the human population of his home plane, Innistrad. Hell he even made the archangel Avacyn to look after them while he is away. So brutal as he is, he has a strong code, a sense of cause and effect, the vision he uses to plan ahead and make sure things come to pass.

We all know how it plays out. In five titles Kratos has killed gods, titans, the Fates, his peers, innocents and his own family. He is the ultimate warrior, showing no mercy, weakness or compassion. He is rage incarnate, snuffing out the life of everything around him. But under all that rage, all that shouting and unbridled destruction, there is a man. A human.

I dread the word reboot. To me, reboot has become a swearword used to make more money by telling the exact same story again, but with new shiny bits and explosions. Then you get those shining examples, things I like to refer to as a 'reimagining' rather than a reboot. A recent example that springs to mind is DmC, where Ninja Theory gave a new story and new purpose to a franchise. Tomb Raider is one such reimagining.

Gatecrash is here, and Gideon is causing trouble in the City of Guilds. Two new event decks have arrived: ready to play 60-card decks with a 15-card sideboard. If you are new to Magic the Gathering and want to join in on the fun of Friday Night Magic, or you want to try something with a bit more clout than the intro packs, this is where you should start. Here are the two Event Decks in a (cough) double decker review. Hopefully something here tickles your fancy.

Dead Space 3 arrived and I was excited, despite all my groaning about reveals of co-op, a pay to win structure and the fact that the game is about going to a frozen planet instead of being, you know, in space. So with the sound turned up way too high, the lights dimmed and my newly purchased adult diaper firmly in place, I was ready to face the necromorphs and pause to grab the calming meds if needed...

Everyone wants to be a wizard. Whether it is the spectacled boy who lived or the wizard who is never late, there is something alluring about the wizarding arts. So what would you do if you were handed a spell book by an odd short creature who claims to be from another world?

Fighting games are my fall-back of choice. When I'm not sure what to play, a few rounds of juggles (and jiggles) keep me busy or get my mind ready for something else. Over the years, however, I have become more accustomed to a fight stick than a controller, something that can take more of a beating. Sigh, I'm going to stop with the phallus humour now, promise!

We all watched it or experienced it in some way. There was a large countdown clock in the office, ticking down to the time when Geoff would stop drooling on us and get the game. When it arrived he disappeared, hiding in his gaming cave, barely noticing the bits of food we tossed in for him. Then the wailing and gnashing of teeth started. Like for many of us, Geoff was having a hard time adjusting to the disparity between his expectations and the game itself. While it wasn't a rubbish game, it wasn't the pinnacle that he was lusting after, the crowning glory, so to speak. Phallic implications aside, what did Ubisoft achieve with the game on the Wii U?

We all have that friend who has more speakers attached to his PC than most have for their 'home cinema'. They are probably bigger too. But not all of us want our PC room to be the loudest area in the neighbourhood. Maybe you travel a lot, and while your laptop might be up to spec, it is probably running some generic on-board soundcard. Still want great 3D 7.1 sound without buying new speakers or a new headset? Look no further. Meet the Siberia USB Soundcard.